Females and the reverse armor rule

[Irisviel]

At least Aion doesn't have "bikini and thong" as of yet at least. Who cares really :\ sure it doesn't make sense that "plate armor" covers so little and stuff but it is fantasy game after all >.>

[Draconic]

All I have to say is that no one is complaining that the best armor in Dragonwarrior III was a "Magical Bikini"

[Korpiklaani]

Its funny sometimes to see the female tank running around and you wonder what does she defend the shots with? ( RF Online for example on Cora side )

[Irisviel]

oh and female chars actually wear shorts under their skirt in this game. so compare to lineage 2 it's not that ****ty or anything.

[Korpiklaani]

Age of Conan beats all in the beginning ... females are as naked as they can get at first ....

[Shilenne]

barbarians don't wear much =-=

[FeyraN]

I think... the game is designed how it's designed, and i will play it regardless

/thread

[RiGoRmOrTiS]

Originally Posted by FeyraN

I think... the game is designed how it's designed, and i will play it regardless

/thread

I wish most people followed this mantra. if you can call it that.

[Disrupter]

Originally Posted by Yame

This doesn't take context into consideration. Say, I'm trying to sell a product to one of the clients at the salon where I work. If I attempt to flash her my bewbies, not only will she not buy the product, but she will also be extremely confused, upset, offended, and I'm likely to get fired, sued, and possibly hit.

That may be true, but she didn't come to your salon to be entertained. She came for another purpose. Interactive software is entertainment, and if half naked women OR men is entertaining, so be it.

[Ipmia]

Originally Posted by Korpiklaani

Age of Conan beats all in the beginning ... females are as naked as they can get at first ....

age of conan is totally different stuff.

Firt off its rated mature , might doent mean a lot but any parents or educated person know this mean that it probably has something in it that shouldnt be used/seen by everyone.

Secondly its a game that wanna stick to the book lore.

besides aoc is targeting adult people, because like it or not but a large of old school mmorpg players are still playing and they have well over the 30 now.. for lot of them those things are ok depending on how they are done.


comparing soft armors in games like lineage2/aion with aoc is like comparing a mainstream movie with a porn

[Gravity]

Originally Posted by FeyraN

I think... the game is designed how it's designed, and i will play it regardless

/thread

QFT. white?

[hirantha]

Yame you are so true! my sister actually shy away from MMOs just cuz of this female bare all rule. Make all of us question how much of sexiness is too much sexiness..

[Howling]

I don't get why women have this problem... if the guys were walking around in shorts or something I wouldn't much care. But because it's a female suddenly its a big deal? No.

[Celestin]

Originally Posted by Yame

There is no deep down issue. I don't play any games with the reverse armor rule, so I don't feel offended, embarrassed, or objectified. As I stated in my original post, I'm not prude. I belly dance and I am used to being seen with a less-than-normal amount of coverage, I'm used to seeing women and talking to them in that same context. I'm also bi and I've seen my fair share of [insert female body part here]. I'm not easily offended, and I have a great sense of humor

That being said, there are many issues with the reverse armor rule, all of which I believe have been established along these pages:
1. it makes no realistic sense
2. it is sexist (when it applies only to females and not males)
3. by itself, it does not attract players who wouldn't otherwise want to play the game
4. it has the potential to detract players who would otherwise play the game

I think that just about covers it. Just because I made a post about it doesn't mean it's my one care in the world, and as I've stated before, even if Aion does go this route, being that we can change the graphics of our armor it is not a big deal, but I would rather it not go that route at all

So you think:
1. It's sexist, therefore, creates or encourages a discrepancy in accorded respect.
2. Has a potential to detract from the player base.

I'm deliberately skipping your first point because like I said, whether it makes realistic sense is a moot point because the entire thing is already not realistic. Even if your plate armour is the finest in the land, it's still going to weigh a significant amount because it's essentially chunks of metal wrapped around you. You will suffer decreased mobility ( speed ) and endurance ( how far you can run before you tire out ). Yet in the game, even with a suit of plate, you will run as fast as a person wearing cloth to prevent balance issues and you will be able to run forever. Realism is a non issue. Anybody complaining about realism, just toss that out now and let's discuss the real problem and real solutions.

However, if speaking realistically, female armour does generally provide the same protection male armor does and does not contain random holes. However, I believe they are a bit more expensive? The contours are a bit different and I think they need a bit more material not to mention different weight distribution, but they generally are the same.

I've also talked about #1. I evaluate people on basis of individual merit. But other people are other people. I don't really have anything there for you. Chances are though, they would discriminate against you regardless.

And the potential to detract from the player base... well, you'll have to review the industry in general to address that one. The truth of the matter is, despite the new found prominence of girl gamers, male still dominate the market, especially for "serious" games ( so no Guitar Hero ). MMOs, as a genre, have traditionally been one of most inaccessible for girls, and only with WoW have MMOs risen onto the general stage, so it's still safe to consider MMOs as a "serious" game. The market for these "serious" games caters to its player base which is, by the vast majority, male. The amount of customers you would lose because they find the content sexist and offensive is far less than the amount you could gain.

However, it is cited that the sexism found in "serious" games is a discouraging factor for many female gamers and the industry is working to repair this, but it's still a very slow process. Ye olde style RPGs are still the only games you can find where females will take dominating roles. Elsewhere, they are still generally delegated to bystanders or objects to be rescued. Seriously, list me some major female characters in non-RPG games. There was Sarah Kerrigan... Jaina Proudmoore. But for every female you name, I can probably name four males ( Jim Raynor, Uther Lightbringer ). Little aesthetic things are not the thing you want to target as your fix.

[Howling]

I'm still trying to figure out how it's possible to percieve it as sexist in the first place... I mean I've outlined the reasons why it is the way it is, and none of it was related to sex...